Ghana’s quest for energy efficiency for its industrialisation agenda has received another major boost with the reaching of a new power deal with the world’s largest gas producer, Gazprom, for the supply of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), which is expected to increase the country’s power generation by some 1,000 megawatts.
The new contract comes on the heels of a recent deal reached with Equatorial Guinea for the supply of some 150 million standard cubic feet of natural gas per day to Ghana.
The new deal replaces two signed competing contracts for the same Tema LNG project by the previous John Mahama government, which were both considered over-priced and over-sized for Ghana.
The contract, which is said to have saved the country over a billion dollars, will see the construction of a re-gasification terminal at Tema.
The deals, according to government, are in line with its agenda to resort to the use of gas - which is cheaper - in powering its thermal plants.
The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has described the deal as positive and critical for the economic transformation of the country, especially at a time when it is recovering from an era of mismanagement.
To set the country back on a transformation agenda, the President emphasised the importance of an efficient and sustainable power supply that is needed to propel its industrial sector, as well as putting in place measures to consolidate its economic and fiscal policy.
“If we are going to succeed in pushing the industrial development of our country rapidly, the supply of gas to our country is now a matter of very great importance for us”, he emphasised.
He emphasised the importance his government places on creating the enabling environment for the private sector to play its critical role in the transformation agenda of the country.
In furtherance of this, he said his government, within the past eight months in office, has made conscious efforts to “try to put a better framework in place to encourage private sector participation in the growth of the economy.”
Pavel Oderov, Head of International Business at GAZPROM, expressed optimism about his company’s relationship with Ghana into the future.
“With GAZPROM producing 11% of the world’s gas, we are more than honoured to become a supplier of LNG to Ghana. We are absolutely sure that we will become a reliable partner for the energy industry in Ghana,” he added.
Minister for Energy, Boakye Agyarko said the deals struck for more gas to Ghana have become necessary if Ghana is to make any headway towards its ambitious development agenda.
“If we are to do the bauxite project, the agro-chemicals and also ensure fuel security and power generation, then it is necessary that we get gas at the right price.”
The deals, he said, set the country on a new path of reducing the cost of producing power and subsequently reduce the cost to the end user.
“The importance of reducing the cost of producing power is that it allows us then to charge a cheaper price for power to our citizens and also to industry so that they will become more competitive in the region, expand their production and be able to offer more employment to our citizens,” he added.
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